Regulator for timepieces.



No. 731,819. PATENT'ED JUNE 23, 1903.

G. G. SIBLEY. REGULATOR FOR TIMEPIEGES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, 1901.

K0 MODEL.

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UNITE STATES Patented June 23, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

REGULATOR FOR TIMEPIECES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,819, dated June 23,1903.

I Application filed October 9, 1901. Serial No. 78,044. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE O. SIBLEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Perth Amboy, Middlesex county, State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Timepieces, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In timepieces as generally in use if they run fast or slow it iscustomary to regulate the mechanism by adjusting the regulator of thehair-spring or pendulum to an amount which may be thought correct, andso on as many times as may be necessary to make the timepiece runaccurately, but there is no provision in such timepieces, so far as I amaware, for mechanically or mathematically determining to what extent theregulator should be adjusted to accord with the amount of time that thetimepiece has gained orlost.

It is the object of my invention, therefore, to provide means that willcause the regulator to be adjusted by and to an amount coincident withthe forward or backward movement of the minute-hand required in settingthe hands to the correct time, and to this end I provide a rack andpinion interposed between the hand-setting member or arborand theregulator of the hair-spring or pendulum of a timepiece, (provisionbeing being made for moving the rack and pinion'into cooperativerelation at the time the setting of the hands is to be effected,)whereby through the medium of said rack and pinion the distance that theregulator shall be adjusted and the direction of such adjustment willaccord with the distance forward or back that the minute-hand isadjusted in setting the timepiece from inaccurate to accurate time.

The invention also comprises the novel details of improvement, that willbe more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming parthereof, wherein- Figure 1 is a face view of the back of a spring-balanceclock provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a section on the plane ofthe line 2 2 in Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothviews.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 indicates generally the worksor gearing of a timepiece, wherein 2 is the minute-hand arbor, and 3 4the minute and hour hands, respectively.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the numeral 5 indicates the regulator for thehair-spring 6 of a springbalance type of timepiece, and in Figs. 3 and 4the numeral 5 indicates the regulator block or member used inconjunction with the spring-support 6 of a pendulum 7, said parts allbeing of suitable or usual construction and operating in well-knownmanner.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown a pinion 8 connected with the minute-handarbor 2, so as to rotate therewith, and said pinion is adapted to meshwith a rack or toothed sector 9, shown pivotally supported, as at 10,and adapted to engage the regulator 5 to. shift the latter to the rightor left, the bar of the rack being shown provided with a slot 9 toengage the regulator 5. The pinion and rack are normally disengaged, andin Fig. 2 I have shown the pinion as provided with a thumbpiece 8 and asmounted upon the squared end of arbor 2, so as to rotate with saidarbor, the thumb-piece 8 serving to simultaneously rotate the pinion 8and arbor 2 for setting the hands. To keep the rack and pinion normallydisengaged, I have shown a spring 11 coiled upon arbor 2 and bearingagainst a stop 12, (shown in the form of a washer and pin carried by thearbor,) a stop 13 on arbor 2 beyond the thumb-piece 8 limiting theoutward movement of the latter and the pinion. In this arrangementl haveshown the rack 9 as pivotally carried upon the casing 1 of thetimepiece; but it is evident that the rack may be carried by the frameof the mecho anism or in any other suitable manner.

By the arrangements shown in Figs. 1 and 2 when it is desired to set thetimepiece the pinion Sis first pushed into mesh with the rack 9 and thenrotated in the proper direction to set the minute-handforward or back,

as the case may require, whereupon the rack 9 will rock on itspivot 10,and thereby the regulator 5 will be moved in the proper direction forcausing the timepiece thereafter to run fast or slow. The relation ofthe parts is such that as the minute-hand is set forward or back theregulator 5 will be moved a distance coincident with or corresponding tothat required to cause the timepiece to run as much faster or slower asit had lost or gained up to the time of setting. It will thus be seenthat judgment or skill in adjusting the regulator 5 to compensate for again or loss in time is not required, because the movement of the rackand pinion caused by the setting of the hand communicates mechanicallyto the regulator the movement required to adjust the latter. Of courseif the timepiece does not keep accurate time after one setting throughthe medium of the pinion and rack it may be again set, each timerequiring less movement of the regulator 5 until accurate running isproduced. The pinion 8 after setting is moved out of mesh with rack 9,so thatduring the running of the timepiece there will be no movement ofthe regulator by the rack and pinion.

Myimprovementsareapplicabletoallstyles of timepieces, and while I haveshown them as applied to clocks it is evident that they may be appliedto watches as well, and as there are a great variety of regulators forWatches it will be understood that my improvements will be interposedbetween the hand-setting member or minute-hand arbor and. thehair-spring regulator in such manner as to produce the efiects describedwith respect to the hair-spring regulator in Figs. 1

and 2 of the drawings.

While I have shown and described a rack and a pinion interposed betweenthe handsetting member and the regulator, it will be understood thatfriction-surfaces may be utilized between the parts 8 and 9 foroperating one by the other instead of teeth, as shown, and I thereforewish it understood that in this specification and the claims where I usethe terms rackand pinion I mean them to include friction-surfaces as themechanical equivalent of the teeth. Nor do I limit my invention tothedetails ofimprovementshown and described, as they may be varied andmodifications made to adapt them to the necessities of various styles oftimepieces without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A timepiecehaving a minute-hand arbor, a pinion mounted thereon and havingathumb-piece for operating the arbor, a regulator, a rack to operate thesame, and means for causing the pinion to operate the rack to adjust theregulator coincidently with the setting of the hand through the mediumof the thumb-piece, substantially as described.

2. A timepiece having an arbor, a pinion adj ustably connectedtherewith, a regulator, a rack to operate the regulator, and means foradjusting the pinion and rack into and out of operative relation,substantially as described.

3. A timepiece having an arbor, a pinion mounted to slide thereon, arack, a spring to maintain the pinion and rack out of mesh, and aregulator connected with the rack to be operated by the latter,substantially as described.

4. A timepiece having an arbor, a pinion mounted to slide thereon, aspring and stop to maintain the pinion in the normal position, a racknormally out of mesh with said pinion, and a regulator connected withsaid rack to be operated by the latter, substantially as described.

5. A timepiece having a hand-setting member, a pinion connectedtherewith, a regulator, and a rack to be operated by said pinion, saidrack having a slotted portion receiving said regulator and having itspivotal support between the regulator and the pinion, substantially asdescribed.

6. A timepiece having a hand-setting member, a pinion mounted to slidethereon, a pivotal regulator connected with a hair-spring, and a rack tobe operated by said pinion and normally out of mesh therewith, said rackhaving a movable connection with said regulator and having its pivotalsupport between the regulator and the rack, substantially as described.

CLARENCE O. SIBLEY. Witnesses:

T. F. BOURNE, M. MANNING.

